In the perspective-altering tradition of Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Nassim Nicholas Taleb's The Black Swan comes a provocative challenge to how we think our world works--and why small, chance events can divert our lives and change everything, by social scientist and Atlantic writer Brian Klaas. If you could rewind your life to the very beginning and then press play, would everything turn out the same? Or could making an accidental phone call or missing an exit off the highway change not just your life, but history itself? And would you remain blind to the radically different possible world you unknowingly left behind? In Fluke, myth-shattering social scientist Brian Klaas dives deeply into the phenomenon of random chance and the chaos it can sow, taking aim at most people's neat and tidy storybook version of reality. The book's argument is that we willfully ignore a bewildering truth: but for a few small changes, our lives--and our societies--could be radically different. Offering an entirely new lens, Fluke explores how our world really works, driven by strange interactions and apparently random events. How did one couple's vacation cause 100,000 people to die? Does our decision to hit the snooze button in the morning radically alter the trajectory of our lives? And has the evolution of humans been inevitable, or are we simply the product of a series of freak accidents? Drawing on social science, chaos theory, history, evolutionary biology, and philosophy, Klaas provides a brilliantly fresh look at why things happen--all while providing mind-bending lessons on how we can live smarter, be happier, and lead more fulfilling lives.

'Illuminating . . . reveals why some people and systems are more likely to be corrupted by power than others' - Adam Grant 'Passionate, insightful, and occasionally jaw-dropping . . . Corruptible sets out the story of the intoxicating lure of power-and how it has shaped the modern world' - Peter Frankopan 'A brilliant exploration' - Dan Snow 'Klaas is the rarest of finds: a political scientist who can also tell great stories. He mixes memorable anecdotes with stern analysis to tackle one of the biggest questions of all: do we have to be ruled by bad people?' - Peter Pomerantsev Does power corrupt or are corrupt people drawn to power? Are tyrants the products of bad systems or are they just bad people? And why do we give power to awful people? In Corruptible, professor of global politics Brian Klaas draws on over 500 interviews with some of the world's top leaders - from the noblest to the dirtiest - including presidents, war criminals, cult leaders, terrorists, psychopaths, and dictators to reveal the most surprising workings of power: how children can predict who is going to win an election based just on the faces of politicians; why narcissists make more money; what makes a certain species of bee more corrupt than others; whether a thirst for power is a genetic condition; and why being the second in command is in fact the smartest choice. From scans of psychopathic brains, to the effects of power on monkey drug use, Klaas weaves cutting-edge research with astonishing encounters (including a ski lesson with the former viceroy of Iraq, tea with a former UK prime minister, and breakfast with Madagascar's yogurt kingpin president). Written by the creator of the award-winning Power Corrupts podcast, Corruptible challenges our basic assumptions about power, from the board room to the war room, and provides a roadmap for getting better leaders at every level.

An engrossing guide to fraudulent elections around the world―fully updated to mark the biggest election year in history in 2024, as over four billion people cast their votes
 
Contrary to popular belief, authoritarian leaders who hold elections are generally able to remain in power for longer. Nic Cheeseman and Brian Klaas show us how they do so, exploring election-rigging strategies including gerrymandering and ballot-box stuffing, voter suppression, and fake news. Documenting pseudo-democratic methods from Argentina and Zimbabwe to Brazil, Nigeria, Russia, and the United States, they offer a sobering view of corrupted political process―while offering hope for future solutions.

We live in an accidental world where randomness and chance rule all. Yet, most of us are under the allusion that we are in control. Every decision we make, interaction we have or tiny event in our lives has an infinite number of alternative outcomes that would have shaped our existence differently. We like to think that everything happens for a reason, but chance determines our reality every day. In Fluke, Brian Klaas challenges our deeply ingrained beliefs about the world and our place in it. Our sense of individual agency and control over our lives is an illusion. From the evolution of human biology and natural disasters to the impact of global events on supply chain disruptions, we are constantly at the mercy of unpredictable and seemingly accidental occurrences, and in an increasingly inter-connected world, randomness plays a bigger role than it ever has done before. But by recognizing the true scale of chance and deploying evolutionary-style approaches to problem-solving, we can make smarter choices and by acknowledging the power of randomness and uncertainty, we can make better decisions and live happier lives. Fluke encourages us to recognize the limits of our understanding and embrace the liberating power of randomness. Every decision we make, interaction we have or tiny event in our lives has an infinite number of alternative outcomes that would have shaped our existence differently. We like to think that everything happens for a reason, but chance determines our reality every day. In Fluke, Brian Klaas challenges our deeply ingrained beliefs about the world and our place in it. Our sense of individual agency and control over our lives is an illusion. From the evolution of human biology and natural disasters to the impact of global events on supply chain disruptions, we are constantly at the mercy of unpredictable and seemingly accidental occurrences, and in an increasingly inter-connected world, randomness plays a bigger role than it ever has done before. But by recognizing the true scale of chance and deploying evolutionary-style approaches to problem-solving, we can make smarter choices and by acknowledging the power of randomness and uncertainty, we can make better decisions and live happier lives. Fluke encourages us to recognize the limits of our understanding and embrace the liberating power of randomness.

Donald Trump isn't a despot. But he is increasingly acting like a despot's apprentice. Whether it's attacking the press, threatening the rule of law, or staffing the White House with family members and cronies, Trump is borrowing moves from the world's dictators. The president's bizarre adoration of global strongmen has also transformed US foreign policy into a powerful force cheerleading some of the world's worst regimes. An expert on authoritarianism, Brian Klaas is well placed to recognise the warning signs of tyranny. He argues forcefully that with every autocratic tactic or tweet, Trump further erodes democratic norms in the world's most powerful democracy. The Despot's Apprentice is an urgent exploration of the unique threat that Trump poses to global democracy-and how to save it from him before it's too late.